


drown me

by neo_taeyong



Category: A.C.E (Beat Interactive Band)
Genre: Fantasy, Happy Ending, M/M, Merman!Yuchan, Sad Park Junhee, human!junhee, merman au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-11
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:13:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28012977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neo_taeyong/pseuds/neo_taeyong
Summary: Junhee is an university student, who works in a little shop by the beach at night. A night when he feels tired and overworked, when he has enough with life, he meets Yuchan. A sunshine that will bright up his sad life.
Relationships: Kang Yuchan | Chan/Park Junhee | Jun
Comments: 5
Kudos: 14





	drown me

**Author's Note:**

> I'm very proud of this story so I hope you'll like reading it as much as I liked writing it. Please enjoy !

Junhee is living by himself in a small apartment by the sea. No pets, no plants, no boyfriend to keep him company. He even got no neighbours, living on the last floor of the building. The apartments next to his are only occupied with old torn sofas, broken tvs, to name a few. And all these covered in dust. It is as if he lives in some kind of hunted dump.

His apartment is nothing better. Of course, it is a lot cleaner, but not happier. At all. Grey walls in every room, aged wooden floor... Junhee tried to brighten it with buying colorful things when he moved in. At first it worked, but now, everything is just gloomy, as if every traces of life had been sucked out.

Maybe because Junhee's happy mood and will to live do not exist anymore.

He goes to college by day, having barely enough money to pay the lessons. The teachers tire him with too much homework that he has hardly the time to do because he works in a grocery store by night, and his boss often keeps him a lot after the end of his shift. So when Junhee goes home, he's exhausted by his whole day and goes straight to bed, not bothering to do them homeworks or even have a dinner. And when he wakes up the next morning, he again does not have a breakfast because of his lack of money. To be real and honest, the only meal that Junhee has is his lunch, but it being only a cup of ramen.

Junhee's life really is a mess and he can't do anything about it.

-

Today is another day for Junhee to go to college. He wakes up tired, his boss has kept him late again. He struggles to put on some black jeans and manages to slip on a same-colored and big-sized hoodie. He takes his phone and looks at the percentage of battery. 21%.

"You must be kidding me !" he whisper-screams. He has put his phone in charge all night but wakes up to an almost dead phone. How is he supposed to go through the day with only 21% ? He's thinking about leaving his phone home and going without it, since it's not much of use but after thinking about it twice, he decides "Screw it, I'm taking it anyway" while putting his phone in his back pocket.

Then, he looks for his earphones, but doesn't find them at their usual place. He looks in the pockets of his last outfit, not there. In his bag, not there either. On his nightstand, still not there. "Oh come on !" Junhee yells in frustration. He sits on his bed and puts his hands in his hoodie's pocket, having already enough of his day, and it didn't even started yet.

As he starts playing with his fingers, to somewhat calm him down, Junhee feels something in between them. He takes the object out of his pocket, already knowing what it is. "Really ! They were in there for fuck's sake !" he cries out, an unique tear of anger rolling down his cheek. He quickly wipes it off with the back of sleeve.

"Let's just leave this place" he whispers to himself, going to the hall to slip into his shoes. He then takes his keys and throws his bag on his shoulder before opening the door and leaving. Of course he closes the door behind him.

On his way to college, Junhee puts his earphones on and pushes the shuffle button. The first song that is played is a calm one, totally contrasting with Junhee's mood. He doesn't change it, thinking that maybe, maybe, it will calm him down. But deep down within him, he knows that the song won't change anything. And before he knows it he's already here.

He slowly enters in his school's hallway, avoiding everyone's eye contact, knowing that they will judge him for being who he is. He goes straight to his locker, opens it and takes his books for his first classes. Junhee then leaves to the biggest lecture hall of the college to have a good seat, not so far from the teacher to be able to listen to the class but far enough to take a little nap without the teacher noticing (it's not like the teacher cares anyway).

As he sits, he feels his phone vibrating. Weird, no one ever texts him. No one except... his boss. He takes his phone out of his pocket and looks at the message : "Park Junhee, you'll stay until the shop closes tonight, which means 2am. And you'll have to lock the door, then put the key into the flower pot next to it. I have a date. Thanks." Junhee rolls his eyes. "That son of a bitch" he curses under his breath. He answers nonetheless with "Sure, enjoy your date" before turning off his phone and going for a small nap.

Junhee wakes up with a smack in his neck and someone harshly pulling his hair. "Wake up fag !" he hears, then feels a pain in his left cheek. "Before I slap you again !" Junhee is confused by all that's happening in just an instant. "Go away, I'm really not in the mood" he says tiredly. The someone that has been pulling his hair flicks his forehead before leaving with a "Whatever, my girlfriend just got there"

"Well, he got away pretty fast" Junhee mutters. "Another idiot that thought hitting me physically would hurt my feelings. The only feeling that I have left is sadness and it's absolutely not caused by stupid bitches of his type" he finishes on the same tone, his cheek still hurting.

Junhee continues to mumble before he hears the teacher entering the huge room. "Alright everyone, please sit down, the class is about to start" they say into their mic so that all the students can hear. They obey rapidly and in barely two minutes, all the lecture hall's seats had been taken. However, surprisingly, the one next to Junhee were empty.

And they were still empty at the rest of his classes of the day.

Junhee leaves the last classroom he's been in, it thankfully being the last classroom of the day and goes straight to the school's exit. He's walking fast, so fast that he bumps into a student and falls on the ground. "I'm sorry" he says before standing up rapidly and holding his hand for the person to get up. It's not because he doesn't like people that he shouldn't be polite, right ? The student, that happens to be a pretty girl, takes it, get back on her feet and looks at Junhee. "Thank you, be careful next time okay ? Not everybody is as nice as me and will let you go easily" she smiles, eventually letting go of his hand. "Noted" Junhee answers kindly, "Goodbye" he smiles awkwardly. "Yeah goodbye" she responds with a sweet voice, slightly waving at him.

Junhee passes her and, a bit slower, he exits college. As soon as he does, he put his hood on, as if to protect himself from the world around him. He buries his hands in his hoodie's pocket and continues to walk, looking at the ground. He knows the way by heart, he's got no need to see where he's going ; he just needs to be careful and not a collide with anyone.

Fortunately, he does not and arrives safe at the little grocery shop. There, he sees his boss unpacking some stuff and greets him bitterly. Junhee then goes to the locker room where he meets his colleague, that just ended their shift. He changes rapidly, "I heard that the boss wants to to stay until the shop closes. Doesn't it bother you ?" his colleague ask, slightly concerned. "It's not like someone is waiting for me at home anyway..." he answers almost robotically, being used to repeat this sentence everyday. "Oh" the colleague reacts softly, "I don't think I can understand what you're going through but I'm sure that one day you'll be okay, trust me" they say, now hugging Junhee.

Junhee gladly responds to their embrace, tightly connecting his arms behind their back. There, in the warmth of someone, he breaks down. He never felt a warmth like this one in forever so he can't help but crying his heart out. The colleague, that turns out to be a woman and mother in her late forties, strokes his hair gently, to calm him down.

"Park Junhee, what are you doing ? What is taking you so long ?" the boss screams from the other side of the door. Junhee looks at the woman with still-teary eyes "Thank you" he slightly smiles before rapidly drying his tears and rushing out of the locker room. "Hey Jun" the woman says, making Junhee stop as he was about to open the door. "You can come to me anytime. You are not alone" she tells, for him to remember. He doesn't reply anything. She then smiles sympathetically and watches Junhee go. "Don't do anything stupid Jun, or I'll miss you very much" she mumbles, taking her things and leaving the shop.

Junhee is now sitting behind the cash register, waiting for people to come and almost zoning out. "I'll go now, I have to be with my date in an hour" the boss announces, already changed into his casual clothes. "And, Park Junhee, don't forget to lock the door or else I'll fire you" he then threatens while hurrying his way out, slamming the door harshly.

"Finally" Junhee whispers in contentment. However, he quickly remembers that he'll have to stay for a long time alone. He looks at the clock on the wall and sees that he has to stay here by himself for still seven hours. Seven hours of doing nothing but stare at the door, hoping that someone would come in. Plus, he keeps his phone battery for his way back home so he can't use it for distracting himself or putting on some music. He puts his elbow on the counter and his head in his palm, tired.

For the first two hours, there were no customers. At around 9.35pm, a woman, with panic written all over her face, rushes in, surprising a sleepy Junhee. She asks him for band-aids because her son just cut himself and all the pharmacies are closed. Junhee nicely helps her before returning at his seat behind the counter.

The next four hours went the same as the first two and now Junhee is fighting to stay awake. He stares at the clock, watching the minutes passing slowly. A drunk men suddenly enters, surprising Junhee again. He goes looking for a bottle noisily and once he found it, he violently put a 20$ bill in Junhee's hand and leaves. Just as fast as that.

Junhee carefully put the bill inside the cash register and closes it slowly. He watches the time again and sees that he has only ten minutes left before he can go. He decides that he's had enough and go change into his normal clothes. He gather his things and takes the key his boss left him. He goes by the door and turns the little sign to the close side. Then, he passes the door and is welcomed by a cold breeze. He locks it sleepily, verify that it is closed well and put the key into the flower pot just like his boss told him to.

He starts to slowly walk back home. He turns his phone on and unknots his earphones, plugging them in his ears. He presses the shuffle button again but, not satisfied with the song, he changes it three or four times before he finds the perfect one. A song with a chill beat and great lyrics, that somehow reflect exactly what Junhee is feeling.

"I'll pass by the beach today" he murmurs, imagining how beautiful the full moon would shine on the still water. He reaches the seashore in no time. He takes off his shoes and socks, wanting to feel the sand between his toes. He starts walking again, calmly and his eyes closed, enjoying the music.

Once he finds himself in front of the moon, he lifts his eyes to take a good look at it. Damn, he thinks, was it always this bright ? Then, Junhee sits on the sand, still examining the moon's beauty. He doesn't know he is staring until the music played in his ears suddenly stops. His phone just died.

But surprisingly, he doesn't care and takes off his earphones to listen to the sound of the sea properly. The little waves crashing on the shore, creating foam. The few birds passing by, even at night. Just the sound of water moving actually. Junhee never thought he would enjoy it this much.

His little paradise soon fades when he hears someone screaming for help. He stands up rapidly and looks for the person that must be in danger ; he is a bit panicked to be honest.

The voice seems to come from behind a couple of giant rocks that separate the beach in two. Junhee rushes there and starts climbing on the rock to go on the other side. He scratches his hands and jeans as he does so. Once on top of it, he sees some kind of red thing that he can't identify. It doesn't seem like blood so, a hand on his heart, he sighs, reassured.

The voice screaming brings him back to his senses and he hurries down. There, he meets something he never thought he could meet. Actually, it is more like a someone.

Leaning back against the rock is a pretty boy, with a red fish tail. His face is clearly showing that he is in pain.

"Oh my Jisoo, are you okay ?" Junhee asks, screaming, not even minding that in front of him is a fucking merman. "Do I look okay to you ?" the boy screams back. "Oh and please, don't shout, my head hurts." the boy finishes on a sassy tone. "Ah, yeah, I'm sorry" Junhee apologizes awkwardly.

Junhee then notices a sort of plastic wrapping stuck around the boy's tail, surely preventing him from moving it. "Can I ?" Junhee points, asking the boy's permission to remove it. The pretty boy only nods, feeling that this human won't harm him in any way.

Junhee comes closer to the boy's tail and slowly takes the plastic off. "Tell me when it hurts" he says, not wanting to injure him. "Sure" the boy answers, almost inaudibly.

He looks attentively at what Junhee is doing, observing his beautiful bony hands doing their job. And unexpectedly, he feels no pain in his tail at all. "He's so concentrated" the boy whispers, now looking at Junhee's face.

"Done !" Junhee exclaims as he finishes removing the plastic. "Do you feel better now ?" he asks, still a bit concerned yet smiling brightly. "Yes, much better, thank you" the boy softly smiles at Junhee who's proudly holding the wrapping in his hand.

"Alright then, I'll put that in the trash bin and I'll be right back" Junhee says, already running to the bin. The boy follows him with his eyes, smiling fondly. He never thought that the first human he'll meet would be so cute.

Arriving at the bin, Junhee puts the plastic in and as he was about to run back to the merman, he realises that he hadn't be, just a bit happy, in forever. And this boy he just met had made him somehow happy and he didn't even know why. It's as if the boy had put a small touch of light into Junhee's dark life. With that thought, he goes back to him, running.

And as Junhee was about to sit down next to him, he asks "Want me to get you by the sea, you don't seem really comfortable here" and without waiting for an answer, he picks the merman up, bridal style and goes closer to the water.

The boy seems surprised at first, but then puts a hand on Junhee's chest, "May I know your name ?" he asks with a shyness he didn't know he had. "My name's Junhee" he answers calmly, "What is yours ?" he then looks at the boy's face. "I'm Yuchan" he replies, blushing at the sudden gaze on him. "It's cute" Junhee comments, leaving Yuchan with a red tomato-like face.

Junhee then spots a nice place by the water where they both could sit. He takes Yuchan there and carefully puts him down. He sits next to him in a comfortable silence. They both look in front of themselves, admiring the full-moon. After a little while of actually enjoying the atmosphere, each other's presence and the pretty light that shine on them, "You don't seem scared of me..." Yuchan says.

With a chuckle, Junhee replies "Why would I ?" before looking at the other. "I don't know, maybe because I have the tail of a fish ?" he answers, with a slight sassy tone. "And so ? I don't see your point..." Junhee smiles, looking back at the moon.

Yuchan understands that it would be a waste of time to argue more, Junhee clearly doesn't mind that he's a merman. And he's glad that the first human he met was a human like him. A human that immediately helped him when he saw he was in pain. A nice human.

"Hey" Yuchan says, poking Junhee's arm, "It's not that I don't wanna be with you anymore but... Shouldn't you go home ? I mean, it's pretty late and your parents must be worried." he continues, a bit guilty, thinking that it's his fault if Junhee is still outside. But Junhee quickly erases that guiltiness by answering "It's okay" with a sad smile. "No one's at home waiting for me" he finishes.

Yuchan's eyes widen when he hears that last sentence. "Why ?" he asks, "If you don't mind telling me of course" he adds, not wanting to pressure Junhee into saying something he doesn't want to say. "No, I'll tell you" Junhee reassures him, "I've been thrown out of my house because I like men" he explains, nonchalantly, as if it is not a big deal.

"And I never thought that my parents would be homophobic, all they ever wanted for me was to be happy. But guess what..." Junhee continues, "What ?" Yuchan questions, taking Junhee's hand in his without realising it. "I am not happy at all ! My life is a mess ! And I hate it ! Because I can't do anything about it !" he cries out. "The only moment I felt like my happy self was when I met you ! And, I don't even know how and why, but you made me happy !" he confesses.

Yuchan looks at him with teary eyes, tightening his hold on the other's hand. "They don't deserve you" Yuchan says, making Junhee look at him. "How so ?" Junhee asks, realising that no one has said such a nice thing to him in a while. "You didn't hesitate to help me when you saw I was hurt. Even if I'm not a human. You took me by the water when you saw that I wasn't comfortable. You talk to me as if I am no different from you. And that makes you a really caring human. If people don't like you... Then they don't know what they're missing." Yuchan explains, now crying.

Junhee panics when he sees tears rolling down Yuchan's face. He rapidly wipes them off with his thumb, "Stop ! Please ! I'm not worth your tears !" he says. But that makes Yuchan cry even more. "You know what Jun ? Go home, I'll meet you there tomorrow. I'll wait as soon as the moon rises." and with that said, Yuchan dives into the ocean, leaving a sad and confused Junhee.

He waits a bit, hoping that Yuchan will come back but, he doesn't and Junhee finally decides to leave. His home isn't far at all, so he walks slowly. As soon as he arrives, he throws his bag somewhere and looks at the damaged clock on the wall. 3:50 am.

He goes to his bedroom and, not bothering to change but still putting his phone in charge, he falls on the bed. Junhee takes a blanket to cover himself and in no matter of time, he drifts off to sleep, overwhelmed by his emotions.

The next day, Junhee wakes up tired. Then he gets ready and goes to school with a fully-charged phone. His day passes quietly, fortunately without any problem. Later, he goes to the grocery store, music playing in his ears. He doesn't greet anyone and goes straight in the locker room. Again, he meets his female colleague there, they chat a bit before she leaves. Junhee goes behind the counter and wears his best smile for the customers. His boss annoys him a little and before he knows it, his shift ends.

"What a boring day" he whispers, leaving the store. He walks for a bit before seeing the moon and suddenly remembering that someone is waiting for him ! Junhee hurries to the place where Yuchan and him were the last night. Out of breath, he sees the same red bright light he saw before, but now knowing that it is Yuchan's beautiful tail.

He approaches Yuchan silently. "Hey" Junhee says quietly, sitting down next to the merman. "Hello !" Yuchan exclaims, clearly happy to see the other. "Tell me, how was your day ?" he asks. "I don't wanna talk about it" Junhee answers, unaware of the cute pout that took place on his lips. "How about you tell me how was yours instead ?" he says, turning to Yuchan.

"Sure !" Yuchan answers, excitedly. And so, Yuchan starts talking about his day, what was good and what was not, how he almost got fished again and how his parents scolded him... He keeps on talking and talking, now explaining some things about what his world is like, underwater. It is something completely new to Junhee so he finds it really interesting.

After about an hour of Yuchan talking, "Promise me you'll tell me about your world" he says. "Of course" Junhee answers with a smile, "I'll meet you here tomorrow, okay ?" he continues. "Yes !" Yuchan whisper-screams, "And every other day too !" he finishes on the same tone. Then he offers Junhee a bright smile and dives back into the sea.

Junhee watches him do, still smiling, before going back to his apartment.

The next day, Junhee's schedule is the same. Waking-up, going to school then to work, seeing Yuchan and talking with him, going back home and sleeping.

Junhee is fine with that schedule, the best part of it being, of course, when he spends time with Yuchan. When they tell each other things about their worlds. When they laugh together about petty things. When they hold hands under the moonlight... Yes, being with Yuchan is really the best time of Junhee's day.

So, the day after goes by the same. And so does every other day of the week. Quickly, this week turns into two. Then it turns into a month, two, three, four... Just as Yuchan had said ; they meet every other day too.

Now, the more time they spend together, the closer the boys get. And Junhee isn't surprised when he realises he had fallen for Yuchan. Because, his days at school getting worse and his boss treating him like shit, Yuchan is the only light that brighten Junhee's life.

So he decides to tell him. He isn't scared of doing so ; he knows that even if Yuchan doesn't like him back, he'll still wait for him under the moon to talk about nothing and everything. Therefore, Junhee will do it tonight.

As he finishes his shift, he runs towards his and Yuchan's spot, getting there in no time. Yuchan greets him with a sunny smile of his, "Hello my Jun ! How are you tonight ?" he says, holding his hand out for Junhee to take. "Now that I've seen you, I can say that I'm fine" he slightly smiles. He sits next to the merman and takes his hand. "You know, I wanna tell you something" Junhee starts, looking at the moon. "And it's important" he continues, holding Yuchan's hand tighter. "Tell me" Yuchan replies, looking at the other.

"I want you to drown me" Junhee says seriously, looking back at Yuchan.

The merman sadly smiles at him, "So you've had enough ?" he asks without expecting an answer. He knows that these days, Junhee's life had been at its worst. "Come closer" he quietly says. Junhee does and the both of them stare into each other's eyes. Yuchan lets go of Junhee's hand to cup his face. "You know what that means right ?" he questions. Both of their foreheads touching, Junhee answers "I know"

"I know that I won't be able to come back to earth, but I've made my choice" he says confidently, "I want to be with you every minute of my life. You're the only one that makes me happy, you're the only one that makes me feel loved... That's why I want you to drown me so I can become a merman just like you and spend the rest of my life with you" he confesses.

Yuchan keeps looking deep into his eyes, not saying anything. "It is possible right ? You didn't lie to me, did you ?" Junhee asks, tilting his head. "I did not lie" Yuchan simply answers, before softly putting his lips on Junhee's.

Junhee feels a shiver down his spine and tears threatening to fall. However, he manages to not let them roll down and enjoys the affection he longed for all his life : being kissed by someone he loves and who loves him back.

"I'll drown you" Yuchan whispers when their lips part, just a little, before finding each other again.

-

The following day, when Junhee's colleague enters the locker room, she finds a note on her locker. She takes it, intrigued and reads it : "Dear Soyeon, thank you for being there for me when I needed it. I know you tried your best to help me but, I couldn't take it anymore. Don't worry for me, I'm in a better place now. With lots of love, Jun. PS : I want you to have everything that belonged to me. PPS : I will miss you"

With a single tear rolling down, she says, a sad smile on her face "I'll miss you too Jun, very much. I hope you feel happier where you are now" and sitting down, she holds the paper to her heart.

Little does she know that deep down the ocean, we can see two lights, one red and the other yellow, swimming together happily.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading my story ! I hope you had a good time reading it !


End file.
